


a new inhabitant enters 423

by alecjbi



Series: transgender jesse mccree [4]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Genji Shimada, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Blackwatch Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Cats, Fluff, Gen, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Sad, Trans Character, Trans Jesse McCree, Trans Male Character, Trans Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Transgender Jesse McCree, Transphobia, honestly this is just real cute okay, jesse gets in a fight lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-06 17:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12822273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alecjbi/pseuds/alecjbi
Summary: jesse has always loved animals. so, when a stray kitten shows up on the base...





	a new inhabitant enters 423

**Author's Note:**

> lmao i just got this idea and had to go with it because young jesse with a kitten is just too good tbh. it’s cute then sad the cute. worth noting that jesse has been at blackwatch for awhile at this point. 
> 
> !!!! homophobic and transphobic slurs and deadname usage in this. please read at your own risk !!!!
> 
> tell me what you think!! i lovelovelove hearing from you guys. comments make my day. hmu on tumblr for shitposts and updates, or maybe buy me a coffee!!
> 
> ko-fi.com/alecjbi  
> alecjb.tumblr.com

"Genji..."

"No."

"C'mon Genji, you don't even know what I was gon' say!"

"Exactly. My answer is still no."

"Please-"

Genji's eyes shot up from the book they were previously glued on (to ignore the kid standing in his doorway and annoying him, Jesse suspected) to Jesse. His eyes were wide, eyebrows furrowed as he leaned left and right to try to see behind Jesse. "Did I just hear something... meow?"

Jesse blushed and shifted his weight between his two feet. The small ball of fur that he held behind his back had meowed softly, trying to escape from Jesse's grasp. He held it there, trying not to to crush it from excitement and anxiety as Genji's blood-red eyes dug into him. "Well, y' just said that y' didn't want to know what I was gon' say..."

Genji then stood up, striding over to Jesse and turning him around. Jesse tried desperately not to move from his position, for the sake of saving his knees and for the small animal he had concealed. Nevertheless, the seventeen year-old couldn't put up much of a fight against a boy made up of 78.5% metal. Genji spun him around, staring intently at the Jesse hands, muttering something that Jesse couldn't understand. 

"Jesse McCree, why do you have a kitten?"

Jesse smiled embarrassingly, his cheeks turning an awful shade of red as he turned around and cupped the kitten in his hands for Genji to see. It wasn't much bigger than one of the teacups Commander Amari always seemed to be sipping out of. Its fur was dirty and matted, but Jesse had a hunch that there was a lovely orange and white coat hidden somewhere under all that filth. It lay contently in Jesse hands, snuggling into a ball and purring softly. 

Jesse had known the animal for five minutes and already loved it. 

"Well, uh, I was lookin' around the hangar-"

Genji's frown deepened. "Do I want to know why you were in the hangar?"

"Probably not." Jesse chuckled softly before seeing Genji's unreadable but obviously judging expression and continued with his story. "Well, anyways, I was lookin' around and I hear this meowing. I'm lookin' all over the place, and I finally found this little guy-" he lifted his hands slightly to show the kitten, "-in an exhaust pipe. No idea how he got there. So I picked 'im up. I couldn't just leave 'im, Genj, he was all alone."

Genji sighed and lifted a hand to ruffle his hair on the back of his head. After living with him for awhile, Jesse had noticed that he performed this tic when he was thinking. 

Usually when he was going to say no to something, too. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of Genji suspiciously eyeing the kitten, he sighed. "Fine. We can keep him."

Jesse nearly whooped as he pulled Genji into a one armed hug, holding the kitten out at arm's length with the other. It mewed, looking startled, but sat in Jesse's hand. Genji, on the other hand, robotically put an arm around Jesse, as if he were not used to such normal physical contact. Although, Jesse was willing to bet a good amount of money that he wasn't very nurtured growing up. After pulling away, Genji held out his hands and Jesse reluctantly relinquished the kitten to the boy. To Jesse's surprise, he looked fondly at it, using his human hand to scratch the kitten's head. Jesse swore that he could see a hint of a smile building upon Genji's lips.

"What will we name him?" Genji looked up from the kitten, the million-dollar question exiting his mouth. "You're very... creative when it comes to that front."

Jesse snorted, taking the statement as a compliment. "I, uh... I don't know. Maybe 'William'?"

That earned a snort from the younger. "I'm sorry, but who the hell names their cat 'William'?"

Jesse put on an offended expression. "One, you're not sorry-" that reprociated a smirk from Genji, "-and two, it's a perfectly good name!"

"Hardly." Genji looked down at the cat, and back at Jesse. "What about 'Neko'?"

"Oh, so I'm the uncreative one?"

Genji actually laughed at that, a rare but very welcomed sound. "Damn. I was hoping that you didn't know what that meant."

Jesse groaned. "Jesus Christ. At this rate, we're never gon' name it. Why don't we ask someone?"

Genji's expression returned to exasperated, one that Jesse was (unsurprisingly) accustomed to. "Neither of us talk to anyone besides each other and our commanders. Plus, Reyes and Angela would get rid of him in an inst- wait."

"What?"

The cyborg's eyes lit up, and not just because of the dim glow emanating from his body. "Amari."

Jesse tilted his head to the side. "What about her?"

"She's not  _technically_ in charge of us, and we know her well enough that she wouldn't report us to Reyes or Morrison. Her and Fareeha have a few cats of their own, I'm sure that she would be willing to help us name him," he said, glancing down at the kitten that was now trying to climb up his arm.

"Genji, you're a genius. But is Amari even here?"

Genji handed the kitten to Jesse, who seemed excited to be back in his rescuer's grasp. "Yes. There's something starting in London, so she came down to strategize with Reyes. I believe that Morrison will be coming in the next week or so."

"How do you know all that?"

Genji smirked proudly. "Being in the right place at the right time. I also looked through Reyes's emails when he left his computer unattended."

"You're horrible."

"I know." Genji strode past Jesse, opening the door to their room (423) and peeked out into the corridor. He came back frowning. “There are a lot of people out there.” Jesse nodded, their room was located in one of the busiest hallways on base. There were usually at least fifteen people standing outside, none of which Jesse knew or liked. “None of them like us, so I don’t know what will happen if they see us with a kitten.”

Jesse frowned for the first time since seeing the kitten. “Probably try to rip my shirt off again. Or call us gay.”

”Well, they wouldn’t be wrong.”

Jesse’s eyes widened. “Genji, did you just... make a joke?”

Genji turned away, walking towards Jesse’s side of the room. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken.”

Jesse wiggled his eyebrows as Genji turned around carrying the other’s hat. “C’mon, you know you wanna laugh...”

Genji’s face was stoic, damn him. “I really don’t. Now, take him and put him in your hat. Please try not to fall and kill him.”

”Whatever.” Jesse carefully placed the kitten on his head, then put his hat on top. The kitten, bless him, didn’t meow. He donned a pair of sweatpants and a Blackwatch shirt that was a few sizes too big. A cowboy hat didn’t really fit with the ensemble, but, hell, it was Jesse’s signature. “Okay, does my chest look flat?”

Genji rolled his eyes and went towards the door. “You’re ridiculous.”

Jesse spread his arms in exhasperation, almost knocking off his hat, and his kitten, in the process. “That doesn’t answer my question!”

Genji spun on his heel, looking directly at the other’s chest with an expression between annoyance and pity. “Jesse, you look fine. You’ve been wearing a binder that’s too damn tight for you, you can’t see anything.”

Jesse blinked. “How did you know that?”

”Right place at the right time. I know you changed those measurments on Angela’s computer when she ordered it. I haven’t told anyone yet, but since you are soon going on active duty, I will tell Reyes if you do not. But this is not the time to be discussing this.” Genji turned around and opened the door. “Come on. We have work to do.”

Jesse stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room, but soon followed behind Genji, head hung as other young Blackwatch agents threw insults endlessly at them.

* * *

The conversation with Captain Amari proved to be... unhelpful at best. Every name launched their way was one that Jesse either didn’t know how to pronounce or simply despised. Genji had quite a similar reaction.

Wandering through the winding halls of Blackwatch HQ wasn’t exactly what Jesse imagined he would be doing after getting a new kitten. He had enough of dodging insults launched at him like bullets on a normal day. Genji as well.

That was the thing with Jesse McCree and Genji Shimada. Their names were either met with a laugh or a groan; nothing in between. They were the laughingstock of the entire Blackwatch army: the annoying cowboy with a high-pitched voice that stayed locked in his room, the stuck-up machine that was sure to sucker punch anyone that even mentioned his life. They were pathetic, and Jesse couldn’t find it in him to disagree.

”Shoulda done that shootin’ contest when I had the chance,” Jesse muttered, forcing his voice to sound as low as he could as they passed yet another group of Blackwatch recruits. “Maybe it’d make me want t’ blow their heads off a little less.”

Genji snorted. It had become a sound that Jesse was accustomed to. Genji rarely laughed, instead it was replaced with bitter snorts. As if he couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. “I wouldn’t oppose to that.” The two rounded a corner before they stopped dead in their tracks.

”Shit, it’s Rhys.” Jesse spoke out of the side of his mouth, as not to draw attention from the teenager standing at the end of the hall, staring idly into the window of a training area. Flashes of blue sprang out the window, begging for Jesse’s attention, but nothing could take his gaze off Rhys. 

Goddamn him.

”Oh really? I couldn’t fucking tell.” Genji’s arms were now crossed, blood red eyes looking for the perfect chance to murder the kid standing in front of them. “He has more implants than I do, and he’s the freak?” 

“Well, you’ve got...” Jesse trailed off as the same blood-thirsty eyes met his. “Okay, y’know what? Nevermind.”

Rhys was, if Jesse allowed him the title, the bane of his existence. He acted as if he were the poster child of Blackwatch, as if he were about to be the next Gabriel Reyes. (Reyes had not seen any proof of this behavior, but vowed to kick Rhys’s ass if he ever saw it with his own eyes.) He was the same age as Jesse, and the prime example as to why Jesse McCree considered returning to Deadlock.

An annoyingly strong cybernetic arm replaced the flesh one on his right arm, (Jesse was convinced that he didn’t need it due to an amputation, but to throw rib-bruising punches in the cowboy’s direction.) and an obnoxious implant on the side of his head that allowed him to download information in a few seconds. (Some rumored that the ghost of the Overwatch founder was residing within his head, but Jesse and Genji immediately called bullshit on it.)

And the worst of all, his left eye. Besides the slicked-up haircut that all but _screamed_ “overcompensation”, it was the first thing anyone would notice. The eye was a cybernetic, a new prototype being developed somewhere within the depths of Blackwatch. While Rhys’s eyes were naturally (a dirt) brown, his other eye was about the brightest shade of yellow Jesse could think of. When activated (which was a nightmare in of itself), it turned a shade of blue that Jesse would never admit was actually kind of beautiful. Jesse could see bits of wiring standing out against the slight glow of his eye, wondering why the hell anyone would want to shove an implant into their eye.

The eye might as well have been the definition of “insidious”. While it seemed harmless on the outside, Jesse and Genji knew the truth. After wondering how the bastard knew that Genji had exactly 78.5% artificial body parts, the cyborg had done a little digging. A week later, Genji had burst into the room with a frown that could rival Reyes’s, revealing blueprints for a cybernetic eye that could scan mostly anything and come up with a plethora of information.

This, obviously, was a problem for Jesse. 

Medical records, family information, anything attatched to the name “Jesse McCree” would show up to Rhys. The gunslinger didn’t know who was in charge of this whole eye project, but he swore to give them the punishment they deserved.

That revenge was on the bottom of the long list of problems that Jesse McCree had. On the top of the list in big, bold, annoying letters was how to get past Rhys.

Jesse and Genji had positioned themselves around the corner, backs pressed against the wall as if they were in a bad spy movie. “How are we gonna get past ‘im?”

Genji peeked around the corner, his scars all the more evident as he scowled. “Rhys’s minions are here.” He turned again, listing off the people who were sure to give Jesse a pounding headache. “Mark, Jack, Tia, Olivia- God, Olivia’s such a bitch-“

”Hey now,” Jesse muttered, peering over Genji’s shoulder to look at the conglomerate they were about to face. “You shouldn’t say that ‘bout a lady.”

Genji frowned (although Jesse wasn’t really sure that Genji did anything but frown) in a very annoyed fashion. “Fine. What if I say they’re all bitches?” 

“I’ll take it.” 

“Good. Now... there’s no way back to our room besides going down that hallway.” Jesse groaned loudly. “We cannot just stand here all day like cowards.” 

Jesse groaned once again. “I hate life.”

”Don’t we all.” With a large sigh and absolute murder in his eyes, Genji turned to corner and strode down the hallway, nose tilted up and arms crossed. The sound of metal clicking against kept getting farther and farther away, and Jesse had no choice but to follow suit and walk down the corridor as if he didn’t know he was about to get his ass beat.

Everything was going fine until Jesse dared to look in Rhys’s direction. There was the eye, lit up with a sickening shade of blue, the wiring imbeded into his iris moving in a circular fashion. 

“Well, if it isn’t our two favorite gays?” Rhys’s tone was cold, yet Jesse could detect a hint of disgusting amusment. That bastard was enjoying this. “Remind me, again, why do you share a room? Did Reyes want to put all the fags in the same place?”

The insult stung, digging under Jesse’s skin and burrowing into his veins. He could feel the sickness, the _anger,_ growing, spreading. He tipped his head downwards and picked up his pace, careful not to make the angle too steep and drop a fragile kitten still hidden under his hat. “Shut up, Rhys.”

”’Shut up’? Is that all I get?” Rhys called behind him. His voice was practically dripping with malice,  “Come on, I know you’ve got better than that, _Mel.”_  

Jesse stopped dead in his tracks. Eyes trained on the ground, he heard more than saw Genji stop and walk back to a seething Jesse. The gunslinger’s blood was boiling underneath his skin, about to explode begging for release. The name hurt as bad as a bullet wound; burning as it went in, getting stuck, the pain spreading, festering. It made Jesse’s mind go numb. It all _hurt._

A somehow timid Genji had placed a hand on his shoulder. If the cyborg had any compassion or understanding hidden within him, this was not the time to show it. His voice came out soft, as if he were coaxing someone away from a high ledge. “Jesse-“

He might as well have been, Jesse mused.

“Hold my fucking cat,” Jesse growled, sliding the kitten forward and into his hat and throwing it to Genji. As he looked up, Genji’s eyes were soft and wide, as if he were scared of what was about to happen.

Well, that was a first.

Jesse spun around on his heel to face Rhys and his posse. The latter had a horrible smile plastered on his face. He would never fail to mock the gunslinger. 

“Shut the fuck up, Rhys.” Jesse’s voice came out high-pitched, and he silently cursed anyone or anything that may be listening for his lack of testosterone. 

And Rhys laughed. He had the goddamn audacity to laugh, to make Jesse even madder than he already was.

”Did you not hear me?” Jesse questioned, moving swiftly towards Rhys.  “I said to shut the fuck up.” 

“Oh, you’ve got a sass to you. I knew it was somewhere in there.” Rhys smirked, placing a hand on his hip. “Probably the only reason Reyes even considered you bringing you here.”

Jesse tiled his head, eyes still locked on Rhys. “What the hell does Reyes have to do with this?”

”Well, I’m just saying, I’m trying to figure out the reason that Reyes let you into Blackwatch.” With the way that Rhys’s eyes brightened, Jesse somehow knew what was coming. His hand subconsciously folded into a fist, ready to strike. 

Fuck rules. Fuck Blackwatch. Fuck the binder. If Jesse was able to knock that stupid look off of Rhys’s face, he’d be content for the rest of his life.

”We don’t need scum like you in a prestige place such as Blackwatch.” Rhys sneered, closing in on Jesse with that same smile on his lips. “We don’t need trannies in our ranks. Isn’t that right, Mel?” Rhys’s had trailed up to Jesse’s shirt, threatening to rip it with a single swipe of a metal hand.

Jesse had enough. He was tired of Rhys, he was tired of having to wear a binder, he was tired of the name “Mel” and the word “tranny” plaguing his dreams, following him throughout his life. He was tired of being harassed as he went down the halls, he was tired of wearing a shirt three sizes too big in case anyone got wind of what lie underneath his chest.

He was tired. So _goddamn_ tired. 

Jesse swung back and brought his fist forward, landing straight on his mark: Rhys’s nose. The sickening crunch that the gunslinger felt underneath his hand made up for the sting in his knuckles.

Blood immediately started streaming down Rhys’s face. Yet, he laughed.

Rhys _laughed._

Jesse didn’t have a chance to react before a closed metal fist slammed into his jaw. And another. And another. Jesse fell to the ground, staring into the eyes of the person he hated most. 

He was tired. So tired. It was stupid to punch Rhys in the first place. Jesse could hardly breathe in his binder, much less throw a good punch. He might as well give up now, accept the broken ribs he was about to recieve.

Though, Jesse didn’t have much time to do that before Rhys all but screeched. A small blob of orange had attached itself to the boy’s arm, teeth sinking into his flesh arm. Jesse’s head snapped towars Genji, who held his hat in one hand and shrugged.

”Well, that works,” Jesse muttered as he laughed slightly to himself. He took the opening to grab the kitten off of Rhys. The puffball meowed contently and lay still in his hand. With the other, he landed punch after punch on whatever available body Rhys had to offer. His shirt had gotten ripped down the middle along the way, exposing a very obvious binder, but Jesse couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

“Hey, what the hell is happening over here?” A familiar, very annoyed voice rang over the crunch underneath Jesse’s fists. A pair of strong arms were pulling him away. As he got up, Jesse got a view of a bloodied Rhys lying on the floor, that stupid smile knocked right off his face.

Jesse could hold that image in his mind forever. Though, an angry Reyes soon flooded his field of vision.

Shit.

The cold eyes of Gabriel Reyes dug into Jesse unlike anything else. His mouth was still shaped into that trademark frown as he spoke.

”Someone take Rhys to Ziegler, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a broken nose.” Jesse glanced in Reyes’s direction, and swore that under the cold exterior, he could spot something resembling proudness. “Tell her to keep him there, we need to talk.”

Rhys groaned loudly from the floor. “What the hell did I do?”

Reyes’s expression darkened. “There’s a long list. You’ll be lucky if I let you step foot on Blackwatch property by the end of this.” The commander spun around, arms crossed. “Now I have to talk to the other idiot. Come on, _mi-_ McCree.”

With one glance back at Genji, Jesse followed his commander and awaited his impending doom.

* * *

 

The walk to Reyes’s office was scarily quiet. So was the commander staring silently at Jesse over his desk with an expression somewhere. between confusion and disappointment.

After what seemed like an hour, Gabriel finally spoke. “We have a lot of things to go over. And I mean a lot. From why you thought it was a good idea to beat the pulp out of Rhys, to why that binder looks like its cutting off your circulation. But, first and foremost...” He gazed over the desk to the tiny kitten sleeping quietly in Jesse’s lap, “why the hell is there a cat in my office?”

Jesse took a risk and smiled. “I was in the hangar-“

Reyes raised an eyebrow. “Why were you in the hangar?”

”...Reasons. Anyways, I found ‘im in an exhaust pipe. I couldn’t jus’ leave ‘im, Gabe.” Jesse awaited the “it’s Commander Reyes, Jesse”, but none came.

Reyes sighed and ran his hands over his face. “Okay, whatever. Frankly, I don’t care at this point. Just don’t let it attack anyone again, okay? Keep it in your room or in my office, got it?”

Jesse nodded quickly. He petted the kitten gently, which earned him a small purr. Jesse swore that Gabriel almost smiled.

So, Gabriel Reyes had a soft side. Good to know.

”So, do you care to explain to me as to why you’re wearing a binder that’s too damn tight for you?” The commander’s eyes were soft, warm. It was almost paternal. The look almost made Jesse want to hug Gabe, but instead he simply raised an eyebrow.

The frown on Gabriel’s face slowly dissipated into something... else. The teenager couldn’t quite put his finger on it, yet at in an direct glance it almost looked like worry. “Listen, I know why you beat up Rhys. Given the opportunity, I would’ve done the same thing. He’ll be getting punished, but so will you. But, we’ll deal with that later.

“So, would you like to tell me why you are wearing a binder that is too small for you?”

Those eyes met Jesse’s, and the younger finally understood. Gabriel saw himself in Jesse.

And Jesse had disappointed him. 

The realization didn’t hurt like the insults that Rhys spewed. Instead, it sank to the bottom of Jesse’s stomach. It coated his heart in something cold, traveling up his throat, making his eyes sting.

Jesse was tired. He was tired of all the lying, of being reminded of someone he was not. He was tired of looking at his chest and feeling nothing but disgust, that sinking feeling in his chest labeled “hatred”. He was tired of his shrill voice, of his short stature, of his small hands, of his wide hips.

Jesse was tired.

So _goddamn_ tired. 

A high-pitched “I’m sorry” was all he could say before the tears started flowing.

Through his blurry vision, Jesse could spot a distinctly sad-looking Gabriel, one that the gunslinger had never seen before.

And Jesse felt the need to make up for it, to say everything.

”I’m sorry,” he said between deep breaths, his voice shaky and cracking. “I just- I changed the measurments on Angela’s computer... I-I thought that it would be f-fine, but everything just h-h-hurts! But I j-just want it to b-be gone, I can’t s-stand it anymore. I j-just, I d-disappointed you, I-I’m sorry...” Jesse trailed off, his speech impaired by the sobs escaping him. 

“Oh, _mijo...”_ Gabriel whispered, standing and walking swiftly around his desk to gather Jesse into a hug. “Jesse, it’s fine. Just let it out. You won’t have to deal with it anymore soon, I promise.” 

“B-B-But I-“

”Sh, it’s okay.” Gabriel put a hand on Jesse’s head, running it softly over his head. “It’s okay, _mijo._ It’s all okay.”

The fact that Reyes had just called him “son” didn’t register until much later. All he could think about was the fact that he let down his commander.

His... father?

The words were unfamiliar, ones that Jesse hadn’t spoken in over a decade. Yet, they somehow felt right.

Jesse was tired. He was tired of life, tired of everything. So, once he fell asleep in Gabriel’s arms, tear stains painting his cheeks, he didn’t know that Gabriel had carried him back to his room. He didn’t know that Gabriel had placed him in his bed, pulling the covers over him and placing the kitten next to him. He didn’t know that Gabriel had sat there for hours, watching Jesse sleep, gathering and starting to fill out the paperwork for something Jesse desperately needed. 

And, in the moment, it was only Gabriel and Jesse.

_Padre y hijo._

Father and son. 

**Author's Note:**

> i don’t condone violence but if you happen to punch a transphobe i’m not complaining. and thank you for reading!! tell me what you think. yell at me, whatever you want, i love it all
> 
> easter eggs:
> 
> \- the cat is based off mine. her name is sherbert, although we usually call her sherbs, and i love her v e r y much  
> \- jes and genj’s room number is 423 bc that’s my birthday!! 4/23. wow i’m so clever guys  
> \- rhys is a character here bc i recently started playing tales from the borderlands. i really like it, and i love rhys. sorry for making him mean but it was so fun writing his description. esp the overcompensation part that was just. really fun. i just finished playing it last night it and!!! ugh i love it. loader bot and gortys are so fuckin cute together  
> \- idk if this counts but jesse’s deadname starts with the same letter as mine. please don’t guess it, this is the closest i will ever get to saying it.


End file.
